By Jason Hildago, Reno Gazette-Journal

Clarity is the hallmark of Lake Tahoe’s pristine, blue waters.

But when Shari Chase first decided to move to Tahoe from San Francisco a few decades ago, the path to founding her own company wasn’t as crystal clear.

“I really just wasn’t quite sure about what I was going to do,” Chase said. “So, I came up with this notion of finding five very wealthy families throughout the world and doing all their real estate transactions for them.”

Shari Chase

In the end, it was a plan that never quite got off the ground, Chase said. But the experience she gained while pursuing that idea would prove to be the foundation for Chase International Real Estate.

These days, the company counts eight offices under the Chase umbrella, including a European branch based in London. The Chase family includes about 225 agents.

Not bad for a venture that was essentially a one-woman enterprise its first three to four years.

“I never dreamed that the company would expand to the size and caliber that it is now,” Chase said. “A big reason is that we decided to do things absolutely differently. We didn’t look at the industry and say, ‘This is how the industry works.’ We created our own vision for the marketplace.”

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